But are they really “winning”? Some of the software Adobe makes is a MUST have on any computer, no matter how often you use it, just to allow basic browsing.

The first time you can’t display a site, you’ll click the option to download Flash Player. It’s not a choice you make, you simply don’t want to get stuck while browsing, and whether you visit one Flash-based site or hundreds makes no difference. Adobe says 55% of Internet users installed Flash Player 10 within two months after its release, which is faster adoption then ever before – true, but they forgot to mention the Firefox 3 / Flash bug which literally forced users to upgrade.

Air has gotten 100 Million installs – great number. I think I myself contributed at least 20-25 to that number, how about you? Not because I am so in love with Air, but for one single application – Twhirl, the Twitter client. Want to use Twhirl, need Air, it’s that simple. If you read my Twhirl & Adobe Air: Catch-22 situation, I must have recorded 6-8 installs just in that nightmare, let alone the other PCs I use – hence my estimate of 20. (Btw, I got close to ditching Air, but *chirp failed on me.)

I am not trying to knock Flash or Air, just saying that those big numbers may not mean a whole lot without looking at the facts behind.